P
Phil
What is the difference between Drive cloning and compressed image of drive?
Phil
Phil
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J
John Barnett MVP
Drive cloning creates an exact 'image' of the drive and is used, primarily,
as a backup option. The image, depending upon the imaging software you use
to image the drive, can usually be spread over a number of CD/DVDs. If you
get a problem, rather than having to re-install everything, you can use the
imaged copy to restore your system back to working order.
In actually fact even a cloned image can be compressed. It simply means that
the size of the image is reduced for the purpose of saving space. You will
find that, with normal imaging software, the compression rates will be
anything up to 50%. But, of course, the more compressed the image becomes
the longer it takes to save to another drive/CD/DVD and the longer it takes
to re-install the system.
For imaging my hard drive(s) I use Acronis Drive Image and store one image
on a separate hard drive and another on 4 DVDs. The compression is set to
Normal in this instance because i want to be able to quikcly restore my
system if a problem occurs.
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
as a backup option. The image, depending upon the imaging software you use
to image the drive, can usually be spread over a number of CD/DVDs. If you
get a problem, rather than having to re-install everything, you can use the
imaged copy to restore your system back to working order.
In actually fact even a cloned image can be compressed. It simply means that
the size of the image is reduced for the purpose of saving space. You will
find that, with normal imaging software, the compression rates will be
anything up to 50%. But, of course, the more compressed the image becomes
the longer it takes to save to another drive/CD/DVD and the longer it takes
to re-install the system.
For imaging my hard drive(s) I use Acronis Drive Image and store one image
on a separate hard drive and another on 4 DVDs. The compression is set to
Normal in this instance because i want to be able to quikcly restore my
system if a problem occurs.
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
J
JCO
I used Ghost, for my images, for 8 years or so. But in the last year or
two, I too used Acronis. I use Acronis TrueImage to make my images. Slight
difference between a clone and an image, however.
An Image is more portable, meaning that you can restore it to any partition
(smaller or bigger).
A Clone, will restore you exactly the way it was. That means that the Clone
will ensure that the partition size is the also the way it was in the
beginning. I had a clone on a friends PC that automatically partitioned the
HD into 2-partitions and restore the C-drive and a hidden (secure) drive.
That is my understanding... although I could be wrong. Maybe Clone/Image is
just semantics'... not sure.
two, I too used Acronis. I use Acronis TrueImage to make my images. Slight
difference between a clone and an image, however.
An Image is more portable, meaning that you can restore it to any partition
(smaller or bigger).
A Clone, will restore you exactly the way it was. That means that the Clone
will ensure that the partition size is the also the way it was in the
beginning. I had a clone on a friends PC that automatically partitioned the
HD into 2-partitions and restore the C-drive and a hidden (secure) drive.
That is my understanding... although I could be wrong. Maybe Clone/Image is
just semantics'... not sure.
P
Phil
I have Acronis True Image 9 and wanted to make a backup incase I had a reason to fix my system.
Thanks JCO and John for the info.
Phil
Thanks JCO and John for the info.
Phil
J
John Barnett MVP
You're Welcome, Phil
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
J
JCO
Awesome idea. I will give you my 2 cents worth and you can take or leave
it.
If this is a new system, you might want to think about partitioning the
harddrive in at least 3-partitions.
C - OS (all critical updates)
D - Applications (i.e. All software you install)
E - Data
F - Backup (optional)
I'm sure it makes sense to have the Data on E. But some will argue about C
& D (OS & Apps) being separated. My logic, as you are starting to notice,
is that this will keep the partitions relatively small. In most cases, if
you have to recover the C-partition, you will also recover the
D-partition.... but this is not always the case.
Also, if you store these on a separate harddrive, keep a text file with
images. Whenever you install a new program, no matter what it is, you
should document it in the text file. That way, if your image is 2-months
old, you can read the text file and see what was installed.. that is NOT
included in the Image. Of course, every few months, when your system is
running perfectly, you should clean the temp files, delete update patches
(optional), clean out the Recycle Bin. and then create a new image (&
delete entries in the text file).
I use TrueImage 10. I keep an images of all partitions on a Re-Writable DVD
and also on a second harddrive that I can pop in and out easily (because its
in a cradle).
Hope this makes sense.
And of course, many other folks will give you their inputs too. Your on the
right path by imaging your system. It's saved me many times. When it comes
right down to it, most people will corrupt their system in a years time.
Sorry if I have to much to say.
it.
If this is a new system, you might want to think about partitioning the
harddrive in at least 3-partitions.
C - OS (all critical updates)
D - Applications (i.e. All software you install)
E - Data
F - Backup (optional)
I'm sure it makes sense to have the Data on E. But some will argue about C
& D (OS & Apps) being separated. My logic, as you are starting to notice,
is that this will keep the partitions relatively small. In most cases, if
you have to recover the C-partition, you will also recover the
D-partition.... but this is not always the case.
Also, if you store these on a separate harddrive, keep a text file with
images. Whenever you install a new program, no matter what it is, you
should document it in the text file. That way, if your image is 2-months
old, you can read the text file and see what was installed.. that is NOT
included in the Image. Of course, every few months, when your system is
running perfectly, you should clean the temp files, delete update patches
(optional), clean out the Recycle Bin. and then create a new image (&
delete entries in the text file).
I use TrueImage 10. I keep an images of all partitions on a Re-Writable DVD
and also on a second harddrive that I can pop in and out easily (because its
in a cradle).
Hope this makes sense.
And of course, many other folks will give you their inputs too. Your on the
right path by imaging your system. It's saved me many times. When it comes
right down to it, most people will corrupt their system in a years time.
Sorry if I have to much to say.
P
PD43
Drive cloning creates an exact 'image' of the drive and is used, primarily,
as a backup option.
No.
Drive cloning creates a second drive that is an exact duplicate of the
first drive.
Drive IMAGING creates an exact image as a backup option.
N
Noncompliant
A clone is a copy of a physical hard drive to another physical hard drive.
After cloning, the clone can be used for the same identical purpose as the
original.
An image is a copy of a partition(s) placed in a file format for later
recovery. The contents (original intent) cannot be used until recovered.
Imaging software uses some form of compression natively.
As far as backing up, the biggest difference between the 2 is use of
physical hard drive space for backup.
After cloning, the clone can be used for the same identical purpose as the
original.
An image is a copy of a partition(s) placed in a file format for later
recovery. The contents (original intent) cannot be used until recovered.
Imaging software uses some form of compression natively.
As far as backing up, the biggest difference between the 2 is use of
physical hard drive space for backup.
T
Timothy Daniels
Noncompliant said:A clone is a copy of a physical hard drive to another
physical hard drive. After cloning, the clone can be used
for the same identical purpose as the original.
Cloning needn't involve the entire physical HD. It can
encompass just a partition. With some cloning utilities,
e.g. Acronis's True Image, the entire HD (i.e. all partitions)
get copied byte-for-byte to another HD. With other
cloning utilities, e.g. Symantec's Ghost and Future Systems
Solutions' CasperXP (and now Casper for Vista), just
a single partition's contents can be selected and put into
a single partition on another HD which may already contain
multiple partitions. This single-partition cloning is handy
if one wants to archive an OS at various stages of its
evolution, such as before installation of a large application
so that one can go back to an earlier version in the event
that the large installation gets corrupted.
The upside to cloning is that the clone is directly bootable
and you don't have to keep track of which files have changed
since the last cloning.
The downside is that the partition gets copied as-is without
any compression that saves space on the archiving medium.
The upside to imaging is that it can be compressed and it
can be done incrementally, i.e. only for those files which
have changed since the last imaging.
The downside to imaging is that the image must be "restored"
before it can be booted. That is, it must be expanded and
copied back to a HD partition before it can be used.
For small systems, i.e. OSes in partitions of 80GBs or less,
cloning is easy and a no-brainer. I keep multiple clones on a
large backup HD that I have in a removable tray, and each is
immediately bootable.
*TimDaniels*
J
JCO
Yes that's a great definition.
Noncompliant said:A clone is a copy of a physical hard drive to another physical hard drive.
After cloning, the clone can be used for the same identical purpose as the
original.
An image is a copy of a partition(s) placed in a file format for later
recovery. The contents (original intent) cannot be used until recovered.
Imaging software uses some form of compression natively.
As far as backing up, the biggest difference between the 2 is use of
physical hard drive space for backup.